I’m not sure about going up to Philadelphia in the near future. My mother wants me to come up, but I’m concerned that any distraction from my current course may disrupt my creative flow. It would be different if it were just a visit for a few days, but we are talking a few weeks, with possibly little if any Internet connection for a time. Not to mention, that I had hoped to participate in some theater this summer. Oh, well, I hope I can put it off for a bit until things pick up with the new websites.

Mr. Alberts was a co-founder of the Four Aces, a group who would earn several awards including Academy Awards for Three Coins in a Fountain and Love is a Many Splendored Thing. He also made the song On the Way to Cape May popular.

Later in his Career he hosted his talent show on Channel 6 in Philadelphia. It lasted for over 30 years. I would faithfully watch the show every weekend, wanting to do the same job. I even had a couple of favorites among the talented kids on the show: Andrea McArdle, who would later become the first Annie on Broadway, and Liza Moran (no relation), who seems to have given up on show business and has fallen out of the public eye.

I met Al Alberts during one of his production company’s shows at a mall in the 1980’s. I even shook his hand and asked him if there was a way I could become involve with his company and help out. He told me to talk to his wife, Stella. Unfortunately, my shyness kept me from taking it any further. Who knows where I would be now.

Because he did the things that I would like to do and because I looked up to him, I suppose I would have to say that Al Alberts was one of my heros. I’m sorry to hear that he passed away. I hope someday to have a group of talented young people singing and dancing on stage, and I’ll know that it’s partly due to the influence of “Uncle Al”.

This project is part of my overall efforts to focus more on those things that interest me most, rather than trying only to find ways to make an income.  Hopefully, this new site will do both.  They do say “Follow Your Bliss.”

I guess I need to think about going to other theaters.  Not an easy thing for me.  My cold reading of scripts is terrible.  I guess I’ll just have to work on it.

Well, for now, I just have to get over the rejection of not getting a part, and think about where to go from here.

I suppose, as all the parts are pretty much equal, I wouldn’t mind getting the constable, yet I feel I’m tool old for the part.  I could also deal with the drunken butler, but I have no real life experience to draw upon.  I’d just have to mimic drunks I’ve seen.  Easy enough, I suppose.  But both parts are kinda dead-pan, so they have their appeal for me.

If I don’t get a part, I told them I would work backstage, but I would like to actually work backstage.  There isn’t much I can do front-of-house in this theater anymore, and I need the experience if I am to go on to direct or produce someday.

I’ll update you as soon as I hear from the director.

I haven’t been following my life-long dreams. Trying to earn a living seems to have pushed me away from those things. It’s time I’ve steered myself back to those things which I want to accomplish.

Generally, I want to be in show business – not as a star or performer (although I will do some work on stage), but as a producer of variety shows and musicals. This has been something that has been a part of me since my childhood. I think it’s time I took it seriously and started really working on it.

I want this blog to reflect my progress as I work toward my goals. I also want it to motivate and help others who may be interested in the same things I am. So, I’ll be working on adding more posts about show business, music, singing, dancing, backstage work, and all the other factors that to into putting on a show.

I have a degree in Theater. I’ve worked in theater, both backstage and onstage. I’ve directed both shows and videos as a teacher, and have taken part in all sorts of special events. I’ve been in a band and several musicals. While I don’t consider myself an expert in show business or a musician, I have a lifetime of experience from which to build.

It’s time to move on and become an expert, so that I can do the thing that I feel I was meant to do in this life. Hopefully, you’ll be able to follow my progress by seeing more entertainment related posts here on my website. I guess now that I’ve put this out there publicly, I have to do it, right?

I do get excited (read “pissed-off”) about some of the topics and the replies that some post to them. Here on my blog, I can rant and rave all I like, although with the thought that it takes to write a good blog, I hope the posts will be more calm and reasonable.

I do have a need to be heard, to express my opinions and hope that some people see things as I do. This blog is a better venue for that. I have wanted to express more of my ideas here, and using the polls as topic starters should increase my enthusiasm for posting here.

So, be prepared for an onslaught of semi-liberal, pacifistic, idealistic, yet oh, so reasonable wisdom from the mind of a hermit.

I’ll be posting articles on the site that I’ve collected over the years. Most have to do with online business, niche marketing, AdSense, and the usual nonsense you find on the many article collections on the web.

I’m doing this mostly to see how well the content works with AdSense and possibly make a little dough. It’s the big experiment that I’ve been thinking about doing for sometime.

Children (or kids at heart) create their own works of art using the spin painting machine. Paper is placed on a spinning platform and people get to squirt paint onto the paper. It creates some really neat designs, and kids love that they can take home something they’ve made themselves.

It’s the same with sand art. Your guests fill uniquely shaped bottles with different colors of sand to make a one-of-a-kind pieces of art. There are basic tube-type bottles, but there are even more exciting bottles shaped like animals, flowers, and more.

For parties and similar events, the cost depends on the number of guests you will be hosting. It averages about $15.00 per guest (minimum $150). Each guest can create two 5 x 7 spin paintings, a sand art necklace or keychain, and a 5 oz. sand art bottle. The guest(s) of honor may select a 10 -12 oz. bottle from inventory.

For festivals or fairs, I’ll pay the booth fee if it’s not too expensive. I will need electricity for the spin painting machine.

***Fundraisers: Contact me about working your fund-raising event. I usually am willing to give a non-profit organization up to 30 percent of sales. It will depend on any booth and application fees.

So far, I’ve had a really fun time with these activities. Thanks for the support.

Jeannine Schiller-Lenge
I haven’t seen Jeannine since her wedding in the mid 90’s. Marriage is enough of a reason for a woman to not keep in touch with single male friends, but I really do miss her. I hesitate saying why I miss her so much. I’ll leave it to you to ponder.

I met Jeannine while doing plays at Little Flower High School. She was beautiful and intelligent, which made me naturally drawn toward her. I asked her to go with me to my Senior Prom, and she did! Over the next several years, we would meet up now and again. We’d even go a couple of years without seeing each other, and then, somehow manage to find each other again. However, this time around, it seems we’ve lost touch forever.

Terri Houser
Speaking of Little Flower High School, the whole reason I started doing plays there was because I met Terri during an event for Saint John Newman. Three boys from Roman were chosen to take part in the procession, and I got to carry our school flag. Three girls from Little Flower were in line behind us, and we had to wait for about an hour before the ceremony began, so we talked the whole time.

It was unusual for me to keep up my end of a conversation, especially in those days, but Terri was very easy to talk to and there was an attraction. She was newly elected head of the Student Council at Little Flower and quite cute.

When I did the first play at LF, Terri signed my program book and gave me her phone number. I called her to go to a party, with the hopes that we might start dating regularly. At the party, she told me that her family was moving to Colorado. I have never heard from her since.

There are a few Little Flowers that I would have like to have gotten to know better or kept in touch with…
Marianne, who called me “Bobby Bear,”
Donna, who became a nun,
Dottsie, who I never really knew but was really cute,
and the teacher who directed “Arsenic and Old Lace.”

John Lund
Joe Bonner
Mike Sexton
Mike Pascarella
Mike Minnick
My high school friends, some of whom I could probably contact via the school website, but don’t because I don’t feel worthy. They’ve gone on to have careers and families. I’ve been trapped in my own world, getting nowhere.

Joe Yukanavitch
Joe was my best friend in my later years as a boy scout. Once I left the scouts, he and I lost touch for a while, until I bumped into him on day. We caught up for a bit, then he took off on his bike, and I haven’t seen or heard from him since.

Amy Kresloff
I met Amy while working at Camp Saginaw in 1979. I do know where Amy is and have contacted her once or twice. She is another friend who married, and she has no real reason to keep in touch with me. I have a few great memories though.

Lisa “Lee” Blender
Lee was another young woman I met at Camp Saginaw. She, Amy, and I hung out together the entire summer. I saw Lee a few times after camp, but lost touch with her after a year or so. I wonder what she is doing now.

Donna Baptista
Donna was my piano instructor at Temple University. It seemed we spent more time talking about my problems than working on the piano. She was married, so I couldn’t get too close to her, but one always wonders about these things.

Albert Lucas
Albert is a world record holding juggler who I worked with at Busch Gardens. While we never were very close friends, I was glad that he considered me someone he could talk to and spend time with after work hours, even if it was just to do some computer work for him.

I’ve tried looking Albert up several times via Google and other search engines, but he seems to be very private and not much information is available. I have always wanted to continue our friendship.

I miss the support and happy times that a group of friends offered.

There are many others I’ve missed over the years. Perhaps I’ll add some to this list later.